Raiders will tell you when they’re good and ready

You can thank David White of the San Francisco Chronicle for smoking out the latest big news out of Alameda.

When team executive John Herrera said there was no media availability scheduled this week as some of the team gathered for preseason workout sessions, I thought the worst.
You know, the usual. A locked security gate, opening and closing only for players and employees in cars with the pass code, and anyone wishing to get a few words subjected to shouting through a chain-link fence.

Thanks, but no thanks.

Whether the usual security was in force, I don’t know. If someone else is going to get the kids off to school with the wife out of town, I’ll need some advance notice.

White, in the best tradition of the news organization that blew the lid off Balco, was responsible for forcing the following earth-shaking announcements via the transactions page on Raiders.com:

Other than Barnes, consummated over the weekend, these other transactions have been done for awhile now.

I’m fairly certain I read on a few occasions in the comments section underneath this blog about Miller. I even asked the Raiders about it and got their best Sgt. Schultz impression. “I see nothing, I hear nothing, I know nothing.”

Miller’s agent wasn’t saying anything, either.

Would have been a nice announcement on the Raiders Web site, bringing back a guy who returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. Instead, it’s a non-story, rating behind Raiderettes visiting some far away land.

(Note: The Raiders have still not confirmed the signing of cornerback Chris Johnson, whose signing, complete with contract numbers, was reported on Feb. 12).

Profootballtalk.com speculated perhaps the Raiders were too busy reminding the media about the many lies of Lane Kiffin to keep up with their “responsibility” of informing people of their day-to-day operations.

Perhaps.

More likely, it’s just the another quirk unique to the Raiders.

When it came to the loss of linebacker Marquis Cooper at sea, the Raiders displayed sensitivity and perspective with a real-life issue far more important than most anything else they’ll do.

They get trashed consistently for their dealings with the media, but run a pretty good draft day and their training camp access is better than most.

Other times, mostly in the offseason, they fall asleep at the wheel. They pick and choose regarding transactions. They’ll go ahead with some signings that can’t help but become news (Nnamdi Asomugha, Shane Lechler).

Bringing back others, such as special teamer Isaiah Ekejiuba, guard Cooper Carlisle and return specialist Miller, are treated as if they’ve reluctantly renewed an unwanted lease.

It’s not the fault of Herrera and Mike Taylor, who are nearly carrying out the wishes of the organization. It’s really not that big a deal at all, unless you’re one of those people who wishes to be kept informed of the goings on with the team to whom you’ve devoted your soul as well as your fan dollars.

It all flows from the top. Somewhere, near files which contain all the paperwork on the slogans “Commitment to Excellence,” “Team of the Decades,” and “Pride and Poise,” is another near the desk of Al Davis which says, “None of Your Damn Business.”

For what it’s worth, the subject of making some players available in the next couple of weeks, as well as new coordinators John Marshall and Ted Tollner, has been broached with the media relations people.

Cable, who straddles the line between his own beliefs and the company line while not sounding as if he’s spreading propaganda, looks like he has real promise at the media game.

Maybe the Raiders will open up a little. Cable even went to the podium at the NFL scouting combine, the first Raiders coach in memory to do so.

More likely, they won’t.

If it happens, great. If it doesn’t, no problem.

If the Raiders don’t feel it’s in their interest to compete in the market place during tough economic times, so be it.

As part of the media, you learn to live with it.

As a fan, many of you don’t care until the games begin anyway. You’re fine with all in-house stuff on Raiders.com and believe any discouraging word is evidence of a Raiders conspiracy.

Son we’re not laughing with you. We are laughing AT YOU, you moron. hahahahahahahaha

Jail Warden

a cell is already being made ready for that stoooge

http://none MaddenRaider

Jerry, team davis killed your blog. It’s registration time.

http://Gaymen Treyrockstar

Nevermind the tape is messed up . Guess I can talk again

Dakota the bear

Hello

Dakota the bear

Y don’t you post your realname

Dakota the bear

Big meany

Dakota the bear

C y’all in the Am

aka…TrollsTroll

i see, true blue is on a rampage again

my take : the NFL must have finally change the D in Dysfunction Broncos huhuhahha

http://Upyup Southernraiderfan

158 what?

http://Upyup Southernraiderfan

Feels good that the broncos are now the drama of da west

Greeny

Mike Golic is the biggest waste of space.

Demon Raider

I am happy about the re-signing of Justin Miller. He is good depth at CB and he is a monster kick returner….

http://Upyup Southernraiderfan

Hopefully that peppers to ne is just a rumor

http://Upyup Southernraiderfan

Justin miller should only be on the roster for competition at kr he shouldn’t even be considered at cb

http://Upyup Treyrockstar

Y erase an apology for my comments instead of the comments themselves. Jic u good people didn’t see it I apologize for my ubsurd comments

jraider

“As a fan, many of you don’t care until the games begin anyway. You’re fine with all in-house stuff on Raiders.com…” – not on this blog.

GO RAIDERS

ENGLANDRAIDER

The reported promise to Barnes by Al that he won’t draft a tackle could mean a couple of things: a. Lombardi doesn’t know what he’s talking about-remember his recent refusal to check with the Raiders. b. Barnes misunderstood what Al said-although that’s NEVER been done before. c. Al actually did make that promise but only, as Jerry said, for the first and second round.

If it’s “c” then that all by itself could be a hint about the draft. It could mean that the Al intend to go for Mack. It would also explain why the Raiders didn’t try too hard to keep Jake Grove even though he was their starting center.

If that’s the plan, I like it. Centers like Mack don’t come along very often and he fits in perfectly with Cable’s cut-blocking system and also matches the current needs of the Raiders.

Mack is an outstanding center and will be ready to go on day one. He’s very good at cut-blocking and in his time at Cal has been a leader and a mentor to others. On top of that he can play guard if we need him to. Finally, he’s just what Russell needs and would help to change the culture of losing that confronted Cable last year.

As Jerry said in a previous thread all the the “truly great” Raider teams had a great center.
Mack can continue the tradition.

Some folks want to go after a receiver and they’ve got a point. However, it doesn’t matter how fast a receiver is or how often they get open if the quarterback’s arse is on the grass all the time.

In any event, we have some real promising receivers in Schilens, Higgins and the ghost of Casper Zack Miller. It’s true that Schilens and Higgins haven’t quite proven themselves yet but after those last two games they deserve a shot even if they did sort of play in those games in the manner of test-dummy Vargas.
As to Walker, who knows? Al seems to have faith in him-or he wants value for money.

Of course it would be great to see Crabtree or Maclin on the Raider roster. Because of the speed issue, it’s possible that Al would prefer Maclin.
Even so, I think the OL and DL are more important right now.

Mack’s likely to go bottom of the first or top of the second. I would really like to get Raji as well but I think we should target Mack.

You’re having a great offseason Al, now have a great draft.

Raiders uber alles!

ENGLANDRAIDER

I just read th article over on SF Gate-I always read Jerry first- where Cable discounts the Lombardi story about Al’s promise to Barnes and that the Raiders will “do as they please”.

Well, I sure hope it will please them to pick up Mack. Go for it!

It’s early days yet, but the Al/Cable relationship seems to have a great deal of promise.
Has Al worked better with any other head coach-other than Madden and Flores?

AP – Mar 4, 3:04 pm EST 1 of 5 NFL GalleryTAMPA, Fla. (AP)—Two NFL players may have died just a few hours after the fishing boat they were in overturned in rough water, possibly before rescuers were even alerted that they and two others were lost off the west coast of Florida, according to Coast Guard records of the boating accident.

In a 23-page report provided to The Associated Press Monday under a Freedom of Information Act request, the Coast Guard documents two conversations it had with Nick Schuyler, a former University of South Florida player who was the lone survivor.

Schuyler told them that one by one, the other men took off their life vests and disappeared during the ordeal.

The report says the group went roughly 70 miles—or 62 nautical miles—to fish for amberjack on Feb. 28. Also onboard the 21-foot Everglades boat were Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith, who played for the Detroit Lions last season, and former University of South Florida player William Bleakley.

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The men’s names were redacted in the report.

Around 5:30 p.m., the report said the group ran into trouble: Their anchor was stuck. Schuyler told investigators that he believed it was caught in a coral reef. They tried to free it, but water filled the boat and it capsized.

Tossed into the frigid water, the men managed to grab their life vests. Schuyler said they held on to the boat for four hours. But as the night wore on, their will to survive appears to have weakened and the effects of hypothermia were likely setting in.

Schuyler told the Coast Guard that one of the men “freaked out” and took off his life vest and disappeared that night.

Another one of the men started getting unruly and throwing punches later. Schuyler told the Coast Guard the second man also took off his life jacket, dove under the water and was never seen again. The third man thought he saw land nearly two days after the boat capsized and decided to swim for it.

Schuyler told the Coast Guard that man said his life jacket was too tight and he took it off.

Officials have said that they eventually found three life jackets; one on Schuyler; another near the boat and a third underneath it. The bodies of the three who disappeared have not been found.

It’s unclear how accurate the account is. Schuyler, who was found clinging to the overturned boat about 35 miles off Clearwater and nearly 48 hours after the accident, was suffering from hypothermia and he has provided different accounts to the men’s relatives. The family of William Bleakley, for example, said Schuyler told them that their son held on to the boat with his college teammate until he weakened and died. Schuyler has also said that Bleakley helped him survive, talking to him and encouraging him during their last night together.

Marquis Cooper’s father has questioned Schuyler’s account that his son removed his life jacket. Schuyler has not responded to interview requests.

As the men struggled in the water, their relatives grew worried. The group was expected home around sunset. One of the men’s family contacted the Coast Guard around 1:30 a.m. on March 1 and a search began.

The Coast Guard records document their repeated attempts—and frustrations — as they attempted tried to find the small white boat in a stormy sea with heavy cloud cover and whitecaps making it tough to spot the vessel.

One person who called the Coast Guard reported that one of the men, presumably Cooper, had one week left before he was expected in California for football practice. The caller, whose name was redacted from the report, said the group “could have possibly tried to go farther out to fish.”

One of the men’s wives was able to find a handheld GPS device that he had left at home and had apparently used in previous trips to record the coordinates of favorite fishing spots. The Coast Guard used that data to refine their search, placing the likely location of the men about 10 nautical miles south of their expected destination.

The Coast Guard contacted the men’s cell phone companies for help tracking their whereabouts, without success. They also sent them text messages, stating that, “the CG is looking for you request you to contact us immediately.”

“Being that these guys are inexperienced, don’t look just at 50 NM offshore, there might be a possibility that they wisened up and stayed close to shore, at least within visual of land,” a Coast Guard officer wrote in one e-mail.

Marquis Cooper’s boat is r…

AP – Mar 4, 9:27 pm ESTThe same e-mail added that, “It might be worth considering getting the story out to media earlier than later = more people on the lookout both on land and water.”

During the search, the Coast Guard reported 14-foot seas offshore and wind gusts up to 30 mph.

The newly released records reveal how the conditions hindered their mission. In one early search, rescuers were only able to cover 40 percent of their search area because of a storm front that moved in.

In another entry, a pilot’s search was described as “ineffective, unable to see anything with current weather conditions during nighttime search, completely dark due to cloud cover.”

One aircraft had an engine problem and never got out. A second aircraft was used but had problems with its radar during the first leg of the search; an alternative device proved useless in the poor weather.

More than 24 hours after starting their search, however, a sign of hope finally emerged.

The Coast Guard cutter Tornado spotted Schuyler, looking small in the vast ocean and clinging to the boat’s hull.

At Tampa General Hospital, Schuyler’s doctor called it a “miracle” that he survived in the 63-degree Gulf water for nearly two days, and said he probably could have lived only another five to 10 hours.